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Shimmering vibrant colours and diversity of species such as this Boat-billed Heron, marks Costa Rica as one of the principal Central America countries with a coastal territory and tropical rainforest that hosts migration from north America and south America to give it unparalleled numbers and variation of birdlife

Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) in Tortuguero NP - Costa Rica

A boat-billed heron perches on a limb among leaves in Costa Rica.

Boat-billed heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) in Tortuguero National Park (Costa Rica)

$Name: Boat-billed Heron, Boatbill\nScientific name: Cochlearius cochlearius\nCountry: Costa Rica\nLocation: Tortuguero National Park$

Black-crowned night heron, Sigean African reserve, Aude

Boat-billed Heron Resting in the Mangrove Forest by the River, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

$Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius ridgwayi) close up of adult perched on branch\$

$Striated Heron.\nThe striated heron (Butorides striata) also known as mangrove heron, little green heron or green-backed heron, is a small heron, about 44 cm tall. Striated herons are mostly sedentary and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding habitat is small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to Japan and Australia, and in South America and the Caribbean. Vagrants have been recorded on Oceanic islands, such as Chuuk and Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marianas and Palau; the bird recorded on Yap on February 25, 1991, was from a continental Asian rather than from a Melanesian population, while the origin of the bird seen on Palau on May 3, 2005 was not clear.$

A boat-billed heron perches on a limb among leaves in a mangrove habitat in Costa Rica.

Boat-billed heron Cochlearius cochlearius with an offsrping in a forest near La Fortuna, Costa Rica

A Bare-throated tiger-heron hunting in a pond on a beach in Costa Rica.

A boat-billed heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) perched on a branch in Belize.

A Female Harpy Eagle is seen in a nest with a chick. This large raptor bird is very rare and shy. It is endangered. The chick is large but not fully grown. In this photo, both birds can be seen in the nest. The Harpy Eagle has the largest claws of all birds in the world. It is also the only Eagle that doesn't soar, due to its short wingspan.

$Grey Heron.\nThe grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia, and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water, or stalking its prey through the shallows.\n\nStanding up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) tall, adults weigh from 1 to 2 kg (2 to 4 lb). They have a white head and neck with a broad black stripe that extends from the eye to the black crest. The body and wings are grey above and the underparts are greyish-white, with some black on the flanks. The long, sharply pointed beak is pinkish-yellow and the legs are brown.\n\nThe birds breed colonially in spring in heronries, usually building their nests high in trees. A clutch of usually three to five bluish-green eggs is laid. Both birds incubate the eggs for around 25 days, and then both feed the chicks, which fledge when 7-8 weeks old. Many juveniles do not survive their first winter, but if they do, they can expect to live for about 5 years.\n\nIn Ancient Egypt, the deity Bennu was depicted as a heron in New Kingdom artwork. In Ancient Rome, the heron was a bird of divination. Roast heron was once a specially prized dish; when George Neville became Archbishop of York in 1465, 400 herons were served to the guests.$